Mormon Coffee

My Father,
Enlarge my heart, warm my affections, open my lips,
      supply words that proclaim ‘Love lustres at Calvary.’
There grace removes my burdens and heaps them on thy Son,
      made a transgressor, a curse, and a sin for me;
There the sword of thy justice smote the man, thy fellow;
There thy infinite attributes were magnified,
      and infinite atonement was made;
There infinite punishment was due,
      and infinite punishment was endured.
Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy,
            cast off that I might be brought in,
            trodden down as an enemy
                  that I might be welcomed as a friend,
            surrendered to hell’s worst
                  that I might attain heaven’s best,
            stripped that I might be clothed,
            wounded that I might be healed,
            athirst that I might drink,
            tormented that I might be comforted,
            made a shame that I might inherit glory,
            entered darkness that I might have eternal light.
My Saviour wept that all tears might be wiped away from my eyes,
            groaned that I might have endless song,
            endured all pain that I might have unfading health,
            bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem,
            bowed his head that I might uplift mine,
            experienced reproach that I might receive welcome,
            closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded
                  brightness,
            expired that I might for ever live.
O Father, who spared not thine only Son that thou mightest spare me,
All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished;
Help me to adore thee by lips and life.
O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise,
      my every step buoyant with delight, as I see
            my enemies crushed,
            Satan baffled, defeated, destroyed,
            sin buried in the ocean of reconciling blood,
            hell’s gates closed, heaven’s portal open.
Go forth, O conquering God, and show me the cross,
      mighty to subdue, comfort and save.

(From The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan prayers and devotions,
edited by Arthur Bennett, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1975)

There’s been a lot in the news this week about illegal immigrants; this promises to be a topic that will continue to receive much attention in the months (or years) to come. One article of interest appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune last weekend: “Many illegal immigrants feel right at home in Utah.” Reporter Michael Riley wrote:

“Amid the country’s caustic immigration debate, Utah may be the closest thing these days to an immigrant paradise.

“Utah is the most Republican state in the country. But the state’s more than 95,000 undocumented immigrants can legally drive with a ‘driving privilege card’ created last year. They can, if they graduated from a Utah high school, go to any public university or community college and pay in-state tuition.”

Trying to explain why this republican state has opened its arms to these immigrants, the article says experts point to Mormon doctrine as the main reason.

“The Book of Mormon teaches that a group of people that traveled to the American continent from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., later called the Lamanites, are the forefathers of the native peoples of Mexico and Central and South America.

“Many Mormons see the tens of thousands of Latin American immigrants who have arrived in the seat of the church as guided by the hand of God in order to be converted and become critical players in an unfolding religious tale of biblical proportions.

“‘Mormons have the Book of Mormon, and the Latin American, aboriginal ancestry is relevant to their views,…’ said [Chris] Cannon, a five-term congressman and a Mormon.

“‘The Mormon church has taken a position that is pretty clear. They are a proselytizing church, and they view the people coming to Utah as a great group of people to convert,’ Cannon said.”

Indeed, an editorial that appeared last July in Salt Lake City Weekly supports this doctrinal connection. “Immigration & Revelation — Some of Utah’s LDS Latinos believe their presence is part of heavenly Father’s master plan” by Naomi Zeveloff recounts the stories of a few representative Utah immigrants.

One is Oscar Faria, who emigrated from Venezuela due to dreams and visions he believed were directing him to Salt Lake City. Once there, through another series of visions, he joined the LDS Church. Mr. Faria believes his journey to the United States “is part of a biblical prophecy” and that the surge of current immigration is “a sign of God’s gathering of the Children of Israel.” He said,

“The people who come here to the United States, the people who come to Utah, are the chosen people. They come here looking for the church and they don’t know it. I am an example of this.”

The Salt Lake City Weekly article went on to note:

“Today, Latinos are converting to Mormonism faster than any group on the planet. There are 102 full-time missions in Latin America, said [Arturo de Hoyos, retired BYU professor of sociology]. The church numbers 3,681,000 Spanish-speaking members, with 952,950 in Mexico alone, fulfilling the prophecy in the Doctrine and Covenants, an LDS scripture, that ‘…the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose’ in the latter days, or the epoch leading up to the Second Coming. ‘The Latinos are joining the Mormon Church tremendously. We believe that it is because they are beginning to remember who they are,’ de Hoyos said.”

Mr. Faria believes the “discord of illegal immigration in the United States is part of God’s plan.” So does another LDS Latino in Utah:

“As a first-generation Latino in the United States, [Oscar] Garcia views the immigrant’s struggle as a gateway to a glorious future. ‘God said that we will be a generation of Latinos that will suffer because we are not legal here, because we are not born here or born from the people who populated this area many generations ago. We will have poverty and racism, but it’s because our children, who are born here as U.S. citizens, are the people that God will prepare for his future plans.’

“Garcia said that as Lamanites come to the United States, the second generation will become fortified. His three children, he said, are living examples of how the Lamanites are increasing in righteousness in the latter days; God is finally taking the ancient curse of black skin for iniquity from this generation of Lamanites, Garcia believes. ‘My children are turning white and they are Lamanite descendents. My daughter is a white Mexican,’ he said.”

Mr. Garcia’s last statement really needs some comment, but more on that later. The point I’d like to bring up here is that not all Utahans are pleased with the idea of Heavenly Father bringing illegal LDS immigrants to their state. The Salt Lake Tribune article noted:

“Recently, opponents have fought back in Utah, wielding their own version of church theology. They note that the Book of Mormon emphasizes obeying the law and that prospective converts must swear that they deal honestly with other people before they can enter a Mormon temple. Both are inconsistent with crossing the border illegally, critics say.”

I’m not sure what reporter Michael Riley means by opponents “wielding their own version of church theology.” It is beyond dispute that Mormon converts must make certain covenants at baptism which obligates them to: 1. Stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all places; and 2. Serve God and keep his commandments. Furthermore, for a Mormon to enter a temple that person must be deemed worthy. One of the questions prospective temple-goers must answer in the affirmative is the one cited above: Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen?

I’m not stating a position on this issue; I’m only asking questions. Can illegal immigrants honestly make and keep LDS baptismal covenants? Can they pass the “worthiness” test and go into LDS temples? Is the Mormon Church taking any steps to help these people become legal immigrants? Should it?

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Okay. I can’t resist a quick comment about this (from above):

“His three children, he said, are living examples of how the Lamanites are increasing in righteousness in the latter days; God is finally taking the ancient curse of black skin for iniquity from this generation of Lamanites, Garcia believes. ‘My children are turning white and they are Lamanite descendents. My daughter is a white Mexican,’ he said.”

This comment is really no surprise to many of us who have examined some of the racial issues in LDS Church history. But to BYU church history professor Richard Bennett this was something new. In response to Mr. Garcia’s comment,

“Bennett says that he has never heard Garcia’s interpretation. ‘The understanding of the scripture of the Book of Mormon is as the Lamanites increase in righteousness, they will become “white” in the sense of having their sins perfectly cleaned out of them. They become purified as a white and delightsome people but not in the connotation of pigmentation or racial expression,’ he said.”

I guess Dr. Bennett is unfamiliar with the remarks of Prophet (then Apostle) Spencer W. Kimball, which were made at the October 1960 General Conference of the LDS Church:

“The day of the Lamanites is nigh. For years they have been growing delightsome, and they are now becoming white and delightsome. In this picture of the twenty Lamanite missionaries, fifteen of the twenty were as light as Anglos; five were darker but equally delightsome. The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter than their brothers and sisters in the hogans on the reservation.

“At one meeting a father and mother and their sixteen-year-old daughter were present, the little member girl — sixteen — sitting between the dark father and mother, and it was evident she was several shades lighter than her parents — on the same reservation, in the same hogan, subject to the same sun and wind and weather. There was a doctor in a Utah city who for two years had had an Indian boy in his home who stated that he was some shades lighter than the younger brother just coming into the program from the reservation. These young members of the Church are changing to whiteness and to delightsomeness.” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 599 - Infobases Collectors Library ‘97)

Good grief.

On March 31st, LDS Church-owned Deseret Book announced plans to open a new store in Nauvoo, Illinois as early as June of this year. On Sunday (April 9th) the Illinois Quincy Herald Whig carried an article about retailers in Nauvoo and how they feel about the competition.

You have to understand that Nauvoo is a very small town. The population is around 1600 residents. It’s a sleepy village most of the time, but wakes during the summer months with lots of Mormon travelers coming to town to visit the restored historic Mormon sites.

As the Quincy Herald Whig notes, Deseret Book’s plan to move into Nauvoo is not welcome news for some of the town’s businesses.

“For [LDS bookstore owner Estel] Neff and other retailers, it’s repetition of what’s already for sale in the community.

“‘Everybody in town is concerned about it. It’s only about four months of business here in this town. The businesses here for years can’t afford to lose any percentage of business at all and still exist,’ Neff said.”

In fact, Nauvoo already has three bookstores that cater to LDS customers: Old House Bookstore, Latter-day Harvest Bookstore, and The Old, Old Path. All of these stores sell LDS books, jewelry, pioneer clothing, home decor and other things Deseret Book plans to bring to town.

Mr. Neff said Deseret Book tried to come to Nauvoo years ago, but the existing retailers were able to convince Deseret to change its plans. Though Mr. Neff and others are trying again to reason with Deseret Book, it doesn’t look like they will succeed.

The Quincy Herald Whig reported:

“Nauvoo long has been a focus area for the LDS retailer, but finding the right location, mix of product and timing was important in launching the new 2,600-square-foot store.

“‘We believe this is the right opportunity for both Deseret Book and for the Nauvoo community,’ [Deseret Book CEO Sheri] Dew said.

“Mayor John McCarty said the building project completes Nauvoo’s main street, filling an empty lot near the temple, and brings a ‘quality store’ to the community.”

This makes it sound as if Deseret Book is doing Nauvoo a favor by building an attractive building to fill a previously empty lot on Mulholland, Nauvoo’s main street. But the lot that now supports the new building wasn’t empty. For many years it had been the site of a small memorial park honoring the Smith family. Nauvoo Legacy Gardens contained a life-size replica of a Nauvoo Temple sunstone, a bronze statue of Joseph Smith, plaques, benches, paths, and more; all in a nicely landscaped and well-kept area.

While the Mayor of Nauvoo seems to generally support the new store, he did express some concern:

“‘The only thing is most of the shops in town sell pretty much the same types of products they’ll bring in. They will be direct competition with retailers everywhere in town,’ McCarty said.

“Local retailers are the ones who weathered the tough times over the years, the slow times in the winter months. ‘It’s hard to back [Deseret Book] 100 percent when you know it hurts them,’ McCarty said.”

Deseret Book already has 43 stores operating around the country. I have to wonder what is driving them to open another store in a market that can barely support the three bookstores already there. What can Deseret Book offer that the other stores cannot (or do not)? The only thing I’m aware of is Mormon Tabernacle Choir products: Deseret Book is the sole distributor for music on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir label. Could this be the motivation?

It’s hard to figure, but I have a theory. I don’t think it’s that Deseret Book has something to offer that the others don’t; but rather that they don’t offer something the others do.

The three bookstores currently in Nauvoo offer products that promote and strengthen the faith of LDS members. But these stores also offer customers books that are sometimes critical of Mormonism.

Could the LDS Church–owners of Deseret Book–be trying to put the independent LDS bookstores* out of business in order to control the books available to visiting Latter-day Saints? Or are they only in it for the money?

*Please note that while two of the three Nauvoo bookstores mentioned above are owned and operated by Mormons, the proprietors of The Old, Old Path are Restorationists.

Last week the Associated Press reported:

“The Assemblies of God, the Mormon church and the Roman Catholic Church were the fastest-growing major denominations in the United States last year, according to the just-released 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches.

“The Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal church, grew 1.81 percent to just under 2.8 million members. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints increased 1.74 percent to nearly 6 million people. And the Catholic Church, by the far the largest denomination in the United States, grew .83 percent to 67.8 million parishioners.”

A few years ago Mormon researcher David Stewart wrote:

“While the LDS Church is still one of the faster growing churches in the United States, most of the growth is due to the fact that a full one-third of all full-time LDS missions are concentrated in the U.S., with less than 5% of the world’s population, and that U.S. Latter-day Saints average approximately one more child per family than non-LDS U.S. citizens. When the LDS birth rate and full-time missionary efforts are taken into consideration, member-missionary efforts account for just 12-14% of LDS Church growth in North America.”

Announced at the LDS General Conference earlier this month, as of December 31, 2005 the Mormon Church claimed 12,560,869 members worldwide. This included an increase of “children of record” (that is, newly baptized children of members) of 93,150; plus 243,108 new converts baptized; totaling 336,258 new members for the LDS Church. However, the Church reported an overall total growth of 285,047 members from December 31, 2004 to December 31, 2005; therefore, the Church lost 51,211 previously baptized members during the same period.

While the Mormon Church continues to expand, there have been no reports of increased retention rates. The surprisingly low activity level of baptized LDS converts was the subject of news reports in July of last year when the Salt Lake Tribune reported, among other startling facts, that the estimated worldwide activity of LDS membership is only around 35 percent. That means that of the 12.5 million members currently recorded, about 8 million are inactive.

For more information about the July 2005 reports on LDS growth and retention see “Welcome Trends” at the Questioning Mormonism web site.

I have always had trouble understanding the Word of Wisdom. As it reads in the 89th section of Doctrine and Covenants, observance of the following things are required by God:

• Strong drinks are not to be consumed, but rather to be used for washing.
• Tobacco is not for the body or the belly, but is to be used for bruises and sick cattle.
• Hot drinks are not to be consumed.
• Herbs and fruit are to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.
• Meat and poultry are to be eaten sparingly, and that only in winter or times of famine.
• Grains are for both man and beast.

It seems clear enough, but apparently it does not actually mean what it says. Mormons who affirm that they obey the Word of Wisdom do not eat meat only in times of famine, treat their bruises with tobacco, or wash with strong drink.

Furthermore, Mormons do consume hot drinks while still believing that they are in full compliance with the Word of Wisdom. That’s because it’s generally understood that “hot drinks” in the revelation refers specifically to coffee and tea. The LDS web site for non-Mormons says:

“Your body is a precious gift from God. To help keep our bodies and our minds healthy and strong, God gave a law of health to Joseph Smith in 1833. This law is known as the Word of Wisdom…God promises great physical and spiritual blessings to those who follow the Word of Wisdom. Today, the scientific community promotes some of the same principles that a loving God gave to Joseph Smith nearly two centuries ago.”

Therefore, it seems clear that the Word of Wisdom was given primarily for health, to protect God’s people from harmful substances. That’s why an article from yesterday’s Deseret News caught my eye. “Nice cup of ‘Mormon tea’ eased settlers ailments” reports on “the kind of tea early Utah settlers drank.” It came from a broom-like shrub in the Gnetaceae Genus Ephedra family. The article states,

“While it is a source of ephedra, it doesn’t violate the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Word of Wisdom.”

Okay…

Deseret News states that no negative side effects were noticed when the pioneers were using it, though recently it has become known that extracted ephedra may lead to serious health problems.

In fact, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler’s death in 2003 was tied to ephedra and in April 2004 the FDA banned the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra due to its serious health risks.

So why were Mormons drinking tea made from a plant containing ephedra? Why were they drinking tea at all?

The Deseret News article says,

“Other settlers brewed a strong tea from the plant to treat syphilis and other venereal diseases and as a tonic. Seeds from the plant were ground as bitter meal or used to flavor bread dough.”

Included in the Deseret News report is this list of “known effects”:

• a stimulus to the central nervous system
• increased blood pressure
• increased heart rate
• increased urine to dispose of excess body fluid
• elevated mood
• decreased appetite
• lessened fatigue

This sounds an awful lot like caffeine to me. And caffeine is usually what Mormons tell me is the harmful component of coffee and tea that prompted that portion of the Word of Wisdom in the first place. (Please note that today’s “scientific community” has found several health benefits related to caffeine. For example, see “Coffee: The New Health Food?“)

As I said, I’ve always had trouble understanding the Word of Wisdom. I don’t get why it was okay for Mormon pioneers to drink ‘Mormon tea.’ I don’t get why it was okay for them to drink tea with ephedra in it. I don’t get why it was okay for them to drink a “hot drink” at all. I don’t get why their behavior did not violate the Word of Wisdom.

LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote,

“SALVATION AND A CUP OF TEA. You cannot neglect little things. ‘Oh, a cup of tea is such a little thing. It is so little; surely it doesn’t amount to much; surely the Lord will forgive me if I drink a cup of tea.’ …if you drink coffee or tea, or take tobacco, are you letting a cup of tea or a little tobacco stand inn the road and bar you from the celestial kingdom of God, where you might otherwise have received a fulness of glory?” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:16)

I don’t get it. Do you?

There have been a few things in the news lately that have caught my attention.

The Salt Lake Tribune from March 30th reported on an email campaign that is underway to encourage HBO to cancel “Big Love,” the new series about polygamy. Allow me a couple of observations.

The email circulating on the internet complains that the series is full of “parodies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” A specific complaint is an alleged parody of “belief in priesthood by a man blessing his hunting rifle.”

I would like to draw your attention to a scene from the LDS film Legacy which used to be shown at the Legacy Theatre in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, Utah. In a heartrending depiction of Mormon pioneers crossing the plains, one woman blesses her sick oxen that they might stand up and pull her wagon safely to Zion. Which they do, of course. No one, to my knowledge, ever complained about this scene promoting a Mormon parody; how is blessing a hunting rifle different from blessing oxen?

The Salt Lake Tribune article also mentions 2 Mormons by name who received the email calling for action against HBO:

“Nicki Rime, a 25-year-old project manager from Orem who received the e-mail Monday and instantly forwarded it to 30 of her friends and family, even though she hasn’t seen the show.”

“Justin King hasn’t seen the show either, but the 24-year-old Brigham Young University student also spread the e-mail to more than a dozen friends and family members.”

This reminds me a little bit of something from a 1993 performance of Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo. In this LDS play Mormon missionaries made fun of 19th century non-Mormons for believing the Book of Mormon was rubbish when they hadn’t even read it. The dialog went like this:

“I wouldn’t touch that Book of Mormon with a ten-foot poll.”

“Why?”

“Because everyone says it’s false–even Ezra.”

“Oh, how would Ezra know? Ezra doesn’t even know how to read.”

“Well, he’s smart enough to listen to what other folks say and Reverend Duberry says it’s a pack of lies.”

“Has he read it?”

“No! He’s not going to. He says it’s leading everyone astray.”

Anyone else see a parallel here?

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Yesterday, April 4th, the Huntington News Network carried an interview with Kim Wolfe, a local police officer who is seeking the Republican nomination for Congress in West Virginia’s Third District. Mr. Wolfe is a Mormon; the interviewer asked if he thought that would be a problem for him politically. Mr. Wolfe answered,

“I don’t wear my faith on my sleeve; I don’t make an issue of it – and I don’t hide it. I have support from Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists.”

I was interested in Mr. Wolfe’s choice of denominations when listing his non-Mormon supporters. The list sounded familiar to me. Here’s why:

“Sometime in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. …Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist…so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible … to come to any certain conclusion who was right, and who was wrong.” (Joseph Smith’s First Vision account, Joseph Smith History 1:5,

Of course, as the story goes, in the end Joseph Smith asked God and found out who was right and who was wrong: None of them were right; all of them were wrong. And not only were they wrong, but the beliefs of the Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists were condemned as “an abomination in [God's] sight” and the members of those faiths labeled “corrupt” (Joseph Smith History 1:19). In Palmyra, New York, not far from where Joseph Smith learned the answer to his spiritual question, there is an intersection with a different church on each corner. Mormons affectionately referred to this intersection as “the corner of confusion.”

I wonder if Mr. Wolfe’s non-Mormon supporters know the story of the foundation of Mr. Wolfe’s religion?

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Speaking of confusion, another article from the Salt Lake Tribune exhibited apparent confusion in the journalist who wrote it. Reporting on the Mormon Church in Chili, she explained why there seems to be a problem retaining LDS converts in that country:

“For many, being a Mormon is a big leap from other Christian faiths, especially in the demands it makes on its members…Because the church has no paid clergy, it expects new members to take on assignments including administering the sacrament, giving speeches, teaching Sunday school, organizing youth activities and doing charitable work for others - and that’s every week.”

In my nearly three decades of experience with Christian churches (with paid clergy) all have relied on volunteer church members to pass communion, give speeches, teach Sunday school, organize youth activities and do charitable work for others. Actually, I think the “big leap” for people familiar with Christianity comes in the non-biblical doctrines Mormons are required to embrace.

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Finally, there was another odd incident reported near the St. George, Utah LDS temple (see the February 23rd post, St. George Temple Scare for previous incidents). An AP article from April 4th says,

“A man is behind bars this morning after walking around naked near the LDS temple in St. George. Police say 32-year-old Cody Calegory of Ivins was arrested Sunday night. Officers say they found him walking naked toward The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple in St. George…Authorities say this is the second time in three months, Calegory has been Tasered in a confrontation with officers near the Mormon temple. Back in January, Calegory was Tasered after becoming violent and combative inside the temple’s visitors center. During that arrest, he told police he was God.”

I’ll keep you posted as the list of strange disturbances at the St. George temple continues to grow.